KILIMANJARO CLIMB INTRODUCTION

Mountain Overview

AfricanMecca believes Kilimanjaro is a mountain with attitude. Towering enigmatically like an ethereal island in the sky wreathed in mists, at 5895 meters, it is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest stand-alone mountain in the world. A volcanic cone rising from rolling northern Tanzanian plains of southern Amboseli, it is a surreal and paradoxical place.

Once believed to be the home of an arbitrary god who punished intruders climbing on Kilimanjaro by paralyzing them with cold, Kili still disperses triumph and despair with random favor. Translated in Kiswahili as the “Shining Mountain”, “Kilima-Njaro” has a snow-capped peak floating high above the equatorial plains; this is where you can walk the world from the tropics to high Arctic and from summer to winter in just one week.



It can be reached by air from most of the world, landing at Kilimanjaro International Airport in northern Tanzania, then taking an overland tour to our base camp in Moshi for the night, then through Chagga farm land to your Kilimanjaro trail base, starting from 1800 altitude meters dependent on your route in tropical forest, progressing through heathland and open moors, to alpine desert, then snowfields, leading to the ash-filled caldera of the summit volcano, Kibo, which still vents hot gases from time to time into the crater.

Only lichens are found here, so slow growing that they are among the oldest life-forms on the planet, possibly thousands of years old. Apart from the magic of mountainous travel with Uhuru Trails in a pristine wilderness, the more remote trails totally unspoilt, and the busier routes provided with facilities to keep the mountain trails clean, there is also the privilege of visiting a phenomenal place that is changing day by day as glaciers nearly 20,000 years old have thawed in the last century.

In another decade, there may be no snowcap on Kili; no glacial underground streams to feed the lush forests and plains far below. This is the effect of climate change at the very least or the coming of the heat-age!.

Who & How Many Climb Kilimanjaro?

Of 40,000 to 50,000 trekkers who attempt the summit every year by utilizing the services of over 300+ Kilimanjaro mountain operators and mountain agents, less than half of them will actually succeed on average; however positively, the outfitters who focus on ascent stratagems have a success rate of 70 to 80% on average.



Since there are no official annual statistics from KINAPA, the Kilimanjaro National Park Authority or even TANAPA - the Tanzania Park Authority or TTB - Tanzania Tourist Board, and the above statistics are based on AfricanMecca’s Kilimanjaro mountain team of insider information from a network of elder and seasoned guides (250+ climbs), porters, cooks and logistical mountain operators who have been working in the industry for 20 to 30 years.

Any Kilimanjaro mountain operator or agent that claims to have a consistent 95% and over annual success rate needs to detail out its statistics in complete transparency for all climb operators in the business to evaluate its marketing-cum-hyped-up validity. Uhuru Trails by AfricanMecca consistently averages around 75% to 85% summit success varying from year to year.

AfricanMecca’s conquest of reaching the freedom summit is primarily cultured on overcoming or diminishing the risk of altitude sickness by strategically acclimatizing ascent protocols in addition to our trekker being fit, gearing up consistent positivity in their mind and hearts in reciprocity, and more importantly, taking on the guided expertise of an experienced team of African mountaineers taking on all safety and best practices into account. These are primary key climb pointers for a successful Uhuru Trails by AfricanMecca trek itinerary.



The rest will alternate between euphoria and misery, pushing yourselves to the ultimate in endurance and determination on what is popularly believed to be no more than a gentle, upland hike. The mountain has evidently been conquered by seven-year-olds - Aaryan Balaji from India and also American Keats Boyd from the City Of Los Angeles, and Canadians 85 and 84 year-old couple - Martin and Esther Kafer from Vancouver, and the fastest ascent and descent has been made in a little over nine hours by a Tanzanian Simon Mtuy carrying all his own gear with no third party support.

Soccer and Forbes listed billionaire celebrity like Roman Abramovich - owner of Chelsea Football Club with a group of six buddies and team of over 100 porters failed the attempt. So did world tennis super legend - Martina Navratilova. As stated earlier, Kilimanjaro definitely has an attitude but now also with an altitude dispute.

Africa’s Vengeful God But Accessible Too

Kilimanjaro is the real vengeful God. No one can predict who will succumb, but those who are better acclimatized will be more likely to succeed, although all may suffer a degree of headache, nausea, grouchiness and downheartedness. You need to be fit; you need to be prepared and you also need to be acclimatized. But most of all, you need to realize that your legs can only take you so far. Your mind does the rest.

So why do it with AfricanMecca? Why spend a great deal of money to devote a two-week dream holiday in Africa to trail the tallest freestanding mountain in the world south of the equator where you are sure to be uncomfortable? Kilimanjaro is a world above the world where all things are possible. Known as “Everyman’s Everest”, it is accessible, not just to experienced climbers and young athletes, but to anyone with a dream. We are now sounding Martin Luther King, Jr!



On a Kilimanjaro mountain safari, trekkers need no special climbing equipment such as ropes, crampons and oxygen, but from trail base to summit, you will be climbing further and faster on Kili than from the Himalayan base camp to the summit of Everest which is around 3000 meters higher. Remember Kilimanjaro is 5895 meters while Everest is 8848 meters.

The north Tibetan base camp for Everest starts at 5150 meters and the south base camp in Nepal starts at 5364 meters. Comparing the ascent difference between the two mountains, you would only need to hike 745 meters at the minimum on Everest to meet the maximum height of Kilimanjaro. The needs of emergency and personal oxygen systems are a hugely debated in between Kilimanjaro climb operators. Read more on AfricanMecca’s take on safety equipment for Kilimanjaro

Reasons To Climb

There are many personal reasons to make the climb on your adventure vacation in northern Tanzania: to mark a wedding, an anniversary or a special achievement with a lifelong memory; or to assert a personal belief and gain confidence through the achievement of self-mastery while experiencing the feeling of freedom that inspired Tanzanians to throw off its colonial rule, and gave the peak its name - Uhuru – freedom in Kiswahili.

Today, AfricanMecca climbs are branded under the banner of Uhuru Trails. A trek on Kilimanjaro can focus attention on problems or events, such as the current concern with global warming, or the loss of plant and animal species by poaching, hunting, farming and over-grazing. It is a powerful icon and an effective political tool.



Climbers support the development of Tanzania itself through income generated from the utilization of this fantastic mountain asset which they share with the entire world. Today, celebrities from all over the world climb Kilimanjaro to highlight global poverty, health needs, education, climactic threats to our global wilderness heritage and more. A highlands trip to Kilimanjaro is a newsworthy lodestone for fundraisers.

Uhuru Trails by AfricanMecca offers an opportunity for endorsed charity fanatics to take on 50% of our profits from your charity Kilimanjaro climbing tours in East Africa to augment the money received from direct sponsorship. There is scope for sponsored treks in aid of disabled people and their families, whilst individuals and groups also dedicate sponsorship proceeds to their own chosen beneficiaries.



There have been well-publicized initiatives by US and UK celebrities in support of global clean water, women and children education, micro-financing needs etc. in developing countries via various charities like Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity International, Save the Children, Oxfam, British Heart Foundation and many others. Back in the UK, celebrities and the public wear Red Noses for Comic Relief, an annual fund-raising event for diverse charities. The options are plenty.

You can take on any charity cause and come trail with the mountain expertise of AfricanMecca. A Kilimanjaro trekking expedition is an inspiration for new visions, individual, political and environmental, fueled by an almost volcanic upwelling of the human spirit. No one can stand above the rest of the world and come back unchanged. Uhuru Trails by AfricanMecca guarantees that to you!